Somebody Write This
123 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago - ★★★★★ - 4 ratingsA podcast where we take a randomly-generated plot synopsis and try to turn it into something someone might actually write.
Music from https://filmmusic.io
"Glitter Blast" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
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Episodes
Bossy Backwoods Kentucky Girls (Episode 67, w/ Jasmine Warga)
July 07, 2022 13:48 - 28 minutes - 39.3 MB"Twin daughters and a cop from New York City search for a mining claim." Are the twin daughters the titular Kentucky girls? How do you search for a mining claim? And is this happening in Kentucky or New York City? Our guest Jasmine Warga is here to help sort this out! Check out her website, jasminewarga.com, and look for her newest book, A Rover's Story, released on October 4.
Ann Wolfe (Episode 66, w/ Ian Trutt)
June 24, 2022 16:58 - 31 minutes - 43.6 MB"A used car dealer moves in with the shady influential owner of a nightclub and his life changes dramatically." Why do these two move in together? What kind of dramatic changes ensue? And who is Ann Wolfe? Our guest Ian Trutt is here to help us work through these questions! You can follow along with his work at iantrutt.com.
Before I Attend an Intense, Week-Long Counseling Session (Episode 65, w/ Naomi Laeuchli)
June 09, 2022 23:11 - 33 minutes - 46.5 MB"After a European loses $65,000 dollars in poker, an Englishman investigates a young woman's terrifying past." Is the Englishman the same person as the European? What's in the young woman's terrifying past? And which of them is attending an intense, week-long counseling session? Our guest Naomi Laeuchli is here to help us walk through this confusion! You can check out her work on the Tales app for iOS and the Dorian app for iOS and Android.
Return to a Rich, Plush Suburb of Philadelphia (Episode 64, w/ Jordan Conrad)
May 13, 2022 00:52 - 30 minutes - 42 MB"When a ruthless businessman arrives, she sets out with independence, her monster, and the French throne to put her life on hold." Is this the literal French throne? How is a monster involved? And where does Philadelphia fit into all this? Fortunately our guest Jordan Conrad is here to work it all out with us! Follow Jordan on Instagram @jordan_illustrates.
Before I Show Up at the Estate With His French Fiance (Episode 63, w/ Elizabeth Bear)
April 28, 2022 16:11 - 29 minutes - 41.2 MB"A secret police enforcer rebuilds her life after she doesn't mess up the job in a haunted castle." How does NOT messing up the job destroy someone's life? Who is haunting this castle? And whose French fiance is involved in all this? Thankfully we have our guest, author Elizabeth Bear, to help us work through this nonsense! You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter and Instagram @matociquala and on her website elizabethbear.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter and Patreon. Her new book ...
A Psychopathic Serial Murderer's Taxi (Episode 62, w/ Megan Darragh)
April 14, 2022 15:00 - 29 minutes - 21.4 MB"In Camden Town, the most famous U.S. Olympic wrestling champion, looks out of her window." Well, that's not a whole lot to go on. What happens next? Why is this woman in Camden Town? How does she encounter a psychopathic serial murderer? Author Megan Darragh is here to help us sort it out. You can follow Megan on social media: Twitter- @megandarragh3 Instagram- @megandarraghbooks Facebook- Megan Darragh Books YouTube- Megan's Musings
Wealthy (Episode 61, w/ Vernon Greene)
March 31, 2022 17:03 - 32 minutes - 44.7 MB"Three cute little old ladies, living in the twentieth century, try to help each other refuse to kill people." Why is refusing to kill people difficult for these little old ladies? How do they help each other? Are they the wealthy ones mentioned in the title? Our guest Vernon Greene joins us to make it all makes sense! Check out his YouTube series A Fan's View (on Twitter @a_fansview) and you can find him personally on social media at @wvglag.
Gloria Hester & The Sewers of London (Episode 60, w/ Cynthia Hand)
March 17, 2022 16:00 - 29 minutes - 41.6 MB"A monster film where a dead body helps the penguins embark on a road trip." How can a dead body help anyone? Is it the monster of the monster film? And how do the sewers of London play into this? Our guest Cynthia Hand helps us figure out these questions and more! You can check out her website at cynthiahandbooks.com (or the Lady Janies series at ladyjanies.com) or follow her on Instagram @cynthiahand and @ladyjanies. Keep an eye out for "My Imaginary Mary," releasing in August!
The Stolen Script (Episode 59, w/ C. Rae D'Arc)
March 03, 2022 17:00 - 30 minutes - 42.7 MB"A lonely sociopath hired to manipulate a parole officer discovers just how dark mysterious artifacts are." How are they trying to manipulate a parole officer? What are these mysterious artifacts? Is one of them a stolen script? Our guest C. Rae D'Arc is here to help us out! You can follow her blog at https://craedarc.wordpress.com/, follow her on Instagram @craedarc, or find her books on Amazon.
Isn't That Right? (Episode 58, w/ Josh Garcia-Cotter)
February 17, 2022 17:00 - 29 minutes - 41.3 MB"Jabba the Hutt must choose between his desire to find a unique and beautiful therapeutic outlet and the responsibilities of receiving daily visits from his downstairs neighbors." ...Well, that's a mouthful to begin with, and our guest Josh Garcia-Cotter has some ideas of his own he wants to work in, so before we know it we have something wild and wonderful in front of us! You can follow our guest Josh on Twitter and Instagram @joshinthemosh89.
Before I Investigate the Murder of a Colleague (Episode 57, w/ Ono Northey)
February 03, 2022 16:47 - 28 minutes - 40.3 MB"A former British Army officer arrives in Arizona, 1873." What is this British Army office doing in Arizona? How is 1873 significant? And who is this colleague who's been murdered? Glad we've got our guest Ono Northey here to flesh out this seemingly simple story. Check out his website at ononorthey.com and his book series, The Shard Chronicles, on Amazon!
The Rocket Ships (Episode 56, w/ Andy Luke)
January 20, 2022 17:00 - 34 minutes - 31.8 MB"The infamous story of Frankenstein, who gets Santa's flight off the ground on a worm farm in California." What are Santa and Frankenstein doing in a story together? And what are they doing on a worm farm? And... there are rocket ships here too? Fortunately, our guest Andy Luke is here to make it all make sense -- or get as close as we can. Check out his website at andy-luke.com to find his work and contact him on social media!
All Bark And No Bite (Episode 55, w/ Justine Manzano)
January 06, 2022 17:00 - 29 minutes - 41.3 MB"Her peers join forces with a soldier and an extremely burned-out Manhattan ambulance paramedic to fall in love with a beautiful young woman." Whose peers? Is everyone trying to fall in love? And what is the title referring to? Author Justine Manzano helps us work all this out! Follow her work at justinemanzano.com or @justine_manzano on Instagram and Twitter!
Human Smear Campaigns (Episode 54, w/ Katie Ahnberg)
December 23, 2021 17:30 - 29 minutes - 41 MB"A pop star finds her love in a confused girl through drastic measures." What kind of drastic measures? Why is the girl so confused? And what on earth is that title about? Fortunately, our guest Katie Ahnberg is here to help us sort this out! Follow her on Instagram at @things.katie.did.
Have the Hots for (Somebody) (Episode 53, w/ Lorien Megill)
December 10, 2021 21:14 - 27 minutes - 38.1 MB"A small-time bank robber and Woody Harrelson fulfill the promise to their recently deceased best friend in Russia." What? What is Woody Harrelson doing in our story? And in Russia? And with that title? Well, thank goodness we have Lorien Megill to help us make sense out of this wild beginning. Check out Lorien's blog at https://101digressions.wordpress.com/
Victorian London French New Wave (Episode 52, w/ Jake White)
November 25, 2021 17:53 - 30 minutes - 42.6 MB"A small town sheriff fights through grief and trauma to regain her mythical shark." Where is this shark coming from? Is the trauma shark-related? And... what do we even do with the title? Fortunately we have Jake White to help us flesh this out, and he's no stranger to following through on wild ideas. Make sure to check out his fantasy serial A Many Tale at www.amanytale.com to see how he does it himself, and follow along on Instagram @a_many_tale.
The Never-Released Cabinet Minister (Episode 51, w/ Katie Castaldi)
November 11, 2021 17:24 - 30 minutes - 42.8 MB"In order to pursue the Holy Grail, an ecstasy dealer must put aside their differences." Differences with whom? Is this the literal Holy Grail? And who on earth is this cabinet minister who's never been released? Jennie's sister, Katie Castaldi, joins us to figure out what in the world's going on with this story. Check out Katie's nail wraps at girllookatmynails.com!
BONUS New Podcast Preview!
October 28, 2021 16:00 - 11 minutes - 11.8 MBDue to tech difficulties, we have no new Somebody Write This podcast this week... but we DO have an exclusive sneak preview of a new podcast by our co-host Hannah: The Bot Canon, in which she gives artificial intelligence the opening of a classic work of literature and lets it complete it. This first episode features a rewrite of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," so give it a listen and subscribe to the official podcast to hear new episodes weekly!
The Artistic Work of Their Father (Episode 50, w/ Jack Pierce)
October 14, 2021 16:04 - 29 minutes - 41.3 MB"A London gangster is transformed into a celebrated actor when he makes his way to London with revenge on his mind." Isn't a London gangster already in London? How does he become a celebrity? And whose father's artistic work is at stake here? Thankfully we have horror author/podcaster Jack Pierce with us to work through this plot! You can find him @jackpiercebooks on social media, and be sure to check out his podcast Terror Trax! Note: Hannah's nice mic died before this recording and she di...
BONUS: Country Music Extended Interview w/ Connor Adamson
October 07, 2021 16:00 - 14 minutes - 12.7 MBIn this week's bonus episode, our last guest Connor talks more about country music as a storytelling platform, adapting those stories to other media, and how country music connects to oral storytelling traditions. Plus, we get a fun follow-up listener note on our "Major Struggling Holiday Traditions" episode -- turns out we may have taken more inspiration from real life than we knew!
If Homer Gets Back to New York (Episode 49, w/ Connor Adamson)
September 30, 2021 15:57 - 34 minutes - 47 MB"An aging gambler on a losing streak who lives with her longtime boyfriend Francis changes the course of history in 1800s England." Who is this aging female gambler in 1800s England? How is Francis important to this story? And who on earth is Homer? Thank you to Connor Adamson for joining us and working through this wild story! You can check out Connor's writing about film on the Flickchart blog: https://www.flickchart.com/blog/author/jedi8246/
Quint & Britt (Episode 48, w/ Kit Falbo)
September 16, 2021 17:13 - 26 minutes - 36.5 MB"A painter's muse must survive a wild 24 hours during which a journey quickly turns into a settling of old scores." What old scores need to be settled? Is the painter part of this wild 24 hours too? And is the muse named Quint or Britt? Our author guest Kit Falbo is with us to help pull out the pieces of this story! You can find him at kitfalbo.com and find his books on Amazon.
BONUS Episode 47: Narrative Therapy Extended Interview w/ Jenneh Sheetz
September 09, 2021 15:34 - 18 minutes - 16.1 MBStarting this week, we're releasing bonus episodes on our off Thursdays, giving you FULL interviews with our guests and sharing podcast updates and what listeners have shared with us. This week you get to hear everything we had to edit out of our interview with Jenneh last week for time, so if you were still curious about narrative therapy and the way it works, give this a listen!
Olive Arlo: The Minivan (Episode 47, w/ Jenneh Sheetz)
September 02, 2021 16:00 - 29 minutes - 40.8 MB"Equally old teammates become increasingly jealous of a prisoner-of-war's inconsolable grief." Why would somebody be jealous of someone's grief? Why does their equal age matter? And how does the minivan become part of it? Thankfully, our guest Jenneh Sheetz is here to help us make sense of this confusing story!
Cocky Human Sacrifices (Episode 46, w/ Nate Adams)
August 19, 2021 16:32 - 27 minutes - 26.8 MB"Lisa is a ventriloquist at a party, and married to a criminal. Things get complicated when she is neither naive nor attractive." What kind of criminal? Do they do human sacrifices? There's a LOT going on in this plot -- fortunately our guest Nate Adams joins us to pull out the most important pieces and see how they fit together!
A Multihued International Dispute (Episode 45, w/ Micki Cottam)
August 05, 2021 16:00 - 29 minutes - 26.5 MB"The U.S. President fights the champ on a rapidly flooding mud island." Our initial question here is: What? And also... what? Immersive storyteller Micki Cottam joins us to help us make sense out of this very confusing story. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook @mickicottam.
House of Conflicted Memories (Episode 44, w/ Bonnie Quinn)
July 22, 2021 16:05 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MB"Matt is wrongly implicated in a series of murders actually done by a roofer." How does Matt prove his innocence? Why is Matt implicated in the first place? And what is the house of conflicted memories? Fortunately we've got our guest, author Bonnie Quinn, to help us untangle it! You can find her on Amazon as the author Bonnie Quinn, or on Twitter @bonnie_quinn.
Bart and the Glove Compartment (Episode 43, w/ Cary Kreitzer)
July 08, 2021 16:15 - 27 minutes - 25.8 MB"A rivalry develops between a teen-aged Australian heiress and a spoiled English girl." Who are these rich girls? What causes their rivalry? And is one of them named Bart? Thankfully we have our substitute co-host Kate Porter and our special guest Cary Kreitzer to figure out what to do with this! You can find Cary on the web on her website (cfkreitzer.com) or on Twitter and Instagram as @cfkreitzer. Her book "Blood Numbers" is available now!
The Major Struggling Holiday Traditions (Episode 42, w/ S. Evan Townsend)
June 24, 2021 16:00 - 27 minutes - 27 MB"Feisal is one of the Cambridge Spies. But when their long-lost leader remembers what he did with the painting, poverty and terminal illness overwhelm her." The same Cambridge Spies that existed in reality? What painting? How is Feisal involved now? Is the poverty and terminal illness somehow related to the painting? So many questions! Jennie's on vacation this week, so we're relying on our substitute co-host, Kate Porter, and our guest, author S. Evan Townsend, to figure this one out! You ca...
RERUN: Harsh the Young Man's Relationship With His Mother (Episide 3 w/ Josiah Hazel)
June 10, 2021 16:30 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBHannah needs a little more time to finish editing this week's podcast, so you get to hear again one of our very favorite older episodes from the early days in 2019. We'll be back in two weeks - enjoy!
The Importance of Turning a Swift Profit (Episode 41, w/ Scott Harris)
May 27, 2021 16:00 - 27 minutes - 26.3 MB"In a dystopian future, seven former students lobby for their own execution in order to impersonate the FBI agent." Former students of what? Why is their own execution a good thing? And how does this help any of them turn a profit? Thanks to our guest, Scott Harris, for helping us figure it out! Here is everywhere you can find him and his comics: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbNBYQo08Ebr9kD_7HS44mA Instagram: @the_crimebusters Website: https://crimebustercomics.com/ Podcast...
The Last Ferry in a Portal (Episode 40, w/ J. Trevor Robinson)
May 13, 2021 16:26 - 25 minutes - 25.2 MB"A playwright retaliates against those responsible, but a team of rebels changes the sound and style of country music forever." Those responsible for what? How does country music connect to the playwright? And how is a portal part of any of this? Thank you to our guest, J. Trevor Robinson, for working through this with us! You can find him on social media @jtrevorrobinson and purchase his book "The Mummy of Monte Cristo" on Amazon!
K Smiley & the Rescue Mission to a Mysterious Planet (Episode 39, w/ Amy Michelle Carpenter)
April 29, 2021 16:38 - 23 minutes - 22.3 MB"A group of inept amateur superheroes hired to escape a hostile blockade to find allies discover just how dark eternal life is." What makes eternal life so dark? Who hired the amateur superheroes to escape? Was it the mysterious "K Smiley"? Thank you to our guest Amy Michelle Carpenter for helping us sift out the details of this one! You can find her on the web at amymichellecarpenterwrites.com or on Instagram @authoramymichellecarpenter, and check out her debut novel "Becoming Human."
Your Guess Is As Good As Mine (Episode 38, w/ Chase Jacobs)
April 15, 2021 16:55 - 22 minutes - 22.7 MB"A group of grandsons in the outside world must help their community survive the farmers' retaliation." Why are the farmers retaliating? What makes the "outside world" different from the inside one? Well, as the title says, your guess is as good as mine... Thank you to our guest Chase Jacobs for helping us sift out the details of this one!
Frankie and the Independence (Episode 37, w/ Simon Elson)
April 01, 2021 16:13 - 26 minutes - 26.6 MB"A sergeant and a professional assassin both discover that his wife has been killed in a car accident." Wait, whose wife got killed? Did the professional assassin have something to do with it? Is one of them Frankie? Thank you to our guest Simon Elson for helping us work through this wild plot! You can find Simon at simonelsonauthor.com, on Twitter @simonelson5 and on Instagram @simonelsonauthor. Buy his debut novel Hades Forest on Amazon in May 2021!
The Three Cross-Country Women Who Have Been Driven Mad (Episode 36, w/ David Conrad)
March 18, 2021 16:01 - 26 minutes - 24.4 MB"A bourgeois family joins a cattle drive, which leads to her reaching his son." Who is "her" and who is "his"? And why are these women going mad? Thanks to our guest David Conrad for helping us flesh out this story! Follow him on Twitter @DavidAConrad and on his website davidconradauthor.com.
The Toughest Racing Route (Episode 35, w/ Clay Johnson)
March 04, 2021 17:00 - 27 minutes - 27.1 MB"A young man defends three ghosts accused of entering a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament." Who cares if ghosts are playing dodgeball? Is this related to those basketball vampires 20 episodes ago? Thanks to our guest Clay for helping us work through this! You check out his podcast The Flying Cow wherever you get your podcasts.
Return to a Monastery (Episode 34, w/ Julie Hahn)
February 18, 2021 17:00 - 25 minutes - 24.1 MB"The evil wizard and the Prince's bride are unable to cope." Unable to cope with what? Is the Prince's bride also evil? And where does the monastery come in? Thanks to our guest Julie Hahn for helping us figure out this beautiful YA fairy tale! You can find more info about her and her upcoming book "Fly With Me" on social media @authorjuliehahn or at her website http://authorjuliehahn.com/.
Angelo Manzoni: The Practical Problems (Episode 33, w/ Grace Helmcke)
February 04, 2021 17:23 - 28 minutes - 24.7 MB"Chloe, an Ares, falls for Viktor, a Vietnam vet." Between Chloe, Viktor, and the titular Angelo Manzoni, we have a lot of people mentioned here... And is it a typo that Chloe is an "Ares," not an "Aries"? Thanks to Grace Helmcke for helping us tease out this fascinating story! You can find her podcast "...so here's the thing" on Spotify, Anchor, or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Importance of Faces Life After College (Episode 32, w/ Erika Blue)
January 21, 2021 17:00 - 26 minutes - 25.4 MB"Michel's focus on the music scene is interrupted when she finds herself an animal." How does she find herself an animal? What is she focusing on in the music scene? And WHAT to do with that awful story title? Thank goodness we had Erika Blue helping us figure it out! You can follow her on her YouTube channel "Pineapple Plays" here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUrZUf3zu4I6Skx0oeCqCQ/
The 40th Global Threat (Episode 31, w/ Lowell Brillante)
January 07, 2021 17:00 - 25 minutes - 24.7 MB"A ex-fitness instructor discovers a dead CIA operative's skills in 1950s Connecticut." How do you discover somebody's skills? Who killed the CIA operative? Was it the 40th global threat? Thank you to our guest Lowell Brillante for helping us untangle it! Check out his podcast Prodigy at www.prodigypodcast.com or anywhere you find podcasts.
My Drug- and Gambling-Addicted Detective Robert (Episode 30, w/ Kellie Kirkpatrick)
December 24, 2020 17:00 - 25 minutes - 24.8 MB"A hurt reindeer tries to live with her condition but a bellboy may change her plans." What is her condition? How does the bellboy change her plans? And is one of THEM Detective Robert, addicted to drugs and gambling? Thank you to our guest Kellie Kirkpatrick for helping us figure out these answers! You can find her writing on oklahomacity.momcollective.com.
The Daring Plan of His Father (Episode 29, w/ Emma G. Rose)
December 10, 2020 17:00 - 29 minutes - 27.6 MB"A retired FBI agent with psychological gifts becomes torn between stopping a diabolical plot and getting turkeys off the Thanksgiving menu for good." Why can't he do both? What psychological gifts does he have? And whose father has a daring plan? Thank you to our guest Emma G. Rose for helping us figure out these answers! You can listen to her podcast on her podcast Indie Book Talk and follow her personally on Instagram as @life_imperative, on Facebook as Life Imperative, or check out her ...
The Sinister Conspiracy (Episode 28, w/ Calista Kern-Lyons)
November 26, 2020 17:00 - 28 minutes - 26.7 MB"Perseus works with a a beautiful thief to wins over the college's most popular girl at an auction house." This isn't Greek mythology Perseus, right? How does a thief's beauty help him win someone over? And what is the sinister conspiracy all about? Thank you to Calista Kern-Lyons for helping us figure out these answers! You can find her book channel A Novel Beauty on YouTube, and she's also on Instagram and Facebook as @anovelbeauty.
Happy One-Year Anniversary! (Episode 27)
November 12, 2020 17:00 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBIt's been a year since we launched the show, so today we're doing a speedrun through all the plots that didn't make it into the final cut. Having only a minute to brainstorm instead of 20-25 is tricky, but we get some workable choices out of it! You can check out the full list over at our blog: somebodywritethis.blogspot.com. Thank you for listening this year, folks! Here's to another year of creative writing!
Cliche-Ridden Leia (Episode 26, w/ Jennifer Anne Gordon)
October 29, 2020 16:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MB"Two rebels team up to stop a boy from befriending the cute Mandy." Who are the rebels? Who is cute Mandy, and why doesn't she get to be friends with this boys? And who's Leia - is Star Wars part of this story? Thanks to author Jennifer Anne Gordon for joining us on this journey to unravel it all! Check out her website https://www.jenniferannegordon.com/ for info on her books, her writing podcast Vox Vomitus, and more!
Escape to Three Decades After the Empire's Defeat (Episode 25, w/ Tim Hodge)
October 15, 2020 16:00 - 22 minutes - 21.1 MB"A New York girl with eternal life attempts to afford medical insurance." The biggest question here is... what does she need with medical insurance? And how does the Empire's defeat play into all of this? Thankfully, we have mutual friend of the podcast Tim Hodge along to help us make sense of this possible futuristic medical drama.
Eve (Episode 24, w/ Joelle Shenk)
October 01, 2020 16:00 - 25 minutes - 25.3 MB"In the Australian Alps a group of a dead CIA operatives becomes the victims in one of a series of brutal shark attacks." What are sharks doing in the Australian Alps? How are the CIA operatives victims if they're already dead? And who is Eve? Thanks to our guest Joelle Shenk for joining us to dig into the heroes, villains, and surprising philosophical questions behind this story!
Tyler (Episode 23, w/ Fancy Comma)
September 17, 2020 16:00 - 26 minutes - 25.1 MB"A detective must protect a group of a dancers who have become protectors and mentors." There's a lot of protection going on -- why? What do the dancers need protection from? And who is Tyler? Thanks to our guest Sheeva from @fancycomma for helping us answer all these questions! You can find her and her work at https://fancycomma.wordpress.com/
The Battlefield Man (Episode 22, w/ Richie Norton)
September 03, 2020 16:00 - 27 minutes - 27.5 MB"Santa's reindeer travel to the Vatican on a business trip to unite." What are reindeer doing at the Vatican? What are they uniting? And who is the titular Battlefield Man? Thanks to our guest Richie for helping us answer all these questions! You can find him and his work at https://richienorton.com/